US3986540A - Fluid servicing unit for automatic fastener feeding and driving apparatus - Google Patents

Fluid servicing unit for automatic fastener feeding and driving apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
US3986540A
US3986540A US05/484,332 US48433274A US3986540A US 3986540 A US3986540 A US 3986540A US 48433274 A US48433274 A US 48433274A US 3986540 A US3986540 A US 3986540A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
air
filter
oil
fastener
servicing unit
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US05/484,332
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English (en)
Inventor
Yubi Mori
Yasuyuki Igaki
Syunji Sugahara
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Panasonic Holdings Corp
Original Assignee
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd filed Critical Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd
Publication of USB484332I5 publication Critical patent/USB484332I5/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3986540A publication Critical patent/US3986540A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25B—TOOLS OR BENCH DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, FOR FASTENING, CONNECTING, DISENGAGING OR HOLDING
    • B25B23/00—Details of, or accessories for, spanners, wrenches, screwdrivers
    • B25B23/02—Arrangements for handling screws or nuts
    • B25B23/04—Arrangements for handling screws or nuts for feeding screws or nuts
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F15—FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS; HYDRAULICS OR PNEUMATICS IN GENERAL
    • F15D—FLUID DYNAMICS, i.e. METHODS OR MEANS FOR INFLUENCING THE FLOW OF GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F15D1/00—Influencing flow of fluids
    • F15D1/14—Diverting flow into alternative channels
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T137/00—Fluid handling
    • Y10T137/2496—Self-proportioning or correlating systems
    • Y10T137/2559—Self-controlled branched flow systems
    • Y10T137/265—Plural outflows

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a fluid servicing unit for use in an automatic fastener feeding and driving apparatus.
  • the automatic fastener feeding and driving apparatus generally includes a fastener container, a fastener driving head such as a power operated screw driver and a mechanism for feeding fasteners successively and one by one from the container to the driving head.
  • an air servicing unit has heretofore been employed which comprises a fluid circuit substantially composed of an air filter for filtering the air so as to eliminate foreign matter, a pressure regulating valve for reducing the fluid pressure of the filtered air to a predetermined or required value and an oiler for adding oil in the misted form to the filtrated air which is in turn supplied to drive units, such as air cylinders and an air motor, of the apparatus which require air to operate and also oil for lubrication. All of these, the filter, valve and oiler, are series-connected with respect to each other.
  • an air passage extending from the filter must be branched into two paths; one path adapted to produce through a pressure regulating valve clean air for feeding fasteners, and the other path coupled to the oiler where the air is mixed with moisted oil, and then to a screw driver to drive the latter.
  • the air servicing unit heretofore employed has many disadvantages. Of the disadvantages, one is that in order to individually connect filter, valve and oiler in the required arrangement, a time-consuming piping job is required, and moreover, a relatively large space for installation is required to accommodate the piping. Therefore, the air servicing unit of the type referred to above can not be advantageously suited for use in a similar apparatus of a portable type.
  • an essential object of the present invention is to provide an exceedingly simple air servicing unit for use in the automatic fastener feeding and driving apparatus which includes an air filter, a pressure regulating valve and an oiler, all formed into a single block, thereby substantially eliminating the disadvantages and inconveniences inherent in the conventional device of a similar kind.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide an exceedingly simple air servicing unit of the type referred to above, which can be easily manufactured and can be easily installed in the apparatus with inexpensive maintenance.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide an exceedingly simple air servicing unit of the type referred to above, wherein air entering an intake port is first filtered by the filter and then fed in part through the pressure regulating valve to the oiler where the air is mixed with oil in the misted form, the oil containing air being adapted to be fed to a power operated fastener driving tool, and in part to a fastener guiding chute as air for forcibly moving the fasteners down the chute.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an automatic fastener feeding and driving apparatus to which the present invention is applicable
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a fluid circuit of the air servicing unit, employed in the apparatus of FIG. 1, and
  • FIG. 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of an essential portion of the air servicing unit shown in FIG. 2.
  • an automatic fastener feeding and driving apparatus comprises a fastener feeding unit 5 and a power operated driving tool 1.
  • the power operated driving tool 1 shown is in the form of a screw driver and has a driver head 2 designed so as to receive fasteners, for example, screws 3, that have fed thereto from a lateral side of the head 2 through a flexible tube 9 successively and one by one at the will of the operator, and to subsequently drive each screw into a workpiece 4 where it is to be fastened.
  • the fastener feeding unit 5 includes a container 6 for accommodating a mass of the screws 3, a supply drum 7 having a plurality of scoopers for upwardly scooping the screws 3 from the bottom of the container 6 as the drum 7 rotates, a downwardly inclined chute 8 for receiving the screws that have upwardly been scooped from the container and downwardly guiding them in a row, and an escapement block 10 coupled to the lowermost end of the chute for separating the downwardly guided screws one by one and for transferring each of the screws from the chute onto the flexible tube 9 leading to the screw driver 1.
  • An air serving unit 11 may be housed in position beneath the chute 8 and includes an air filter section 12, a pressure regulating valve 13 and an oiler section 14 or oil atomizer, all being formed in a single flat cubic block.
  • the block 11 is formed with an air intake port 15 adapted to be coupled to a source of air for supplying air therethrough into the filter section 12 and to an outlet port 16 adapted to be coupled to the screw driver 1 by means of a flexible pipe 17 for supplying air mixed with misted oil from the oiler 14 therethrough to an air motor (not shown) built into the screw driver 1.
  • the pressure regulating valve 13 has an outlet port 13a into which an electromagnetic valve assembly 18 is threaded.
  • This electromagnetic valve assembly 18 has a normally opened first port 19 and a second port 20 which is opened only when the valve assembly is electrically energized.
  • the valve assembly 18 further has an inlet port 21 to which air passing through the pressure regulating valve 13 is supplied.
  • An electrical control unit 22 is housed in position within a housing structure for the feeding unit 5 and is designed so as to control the electromagnetic valve assembly 18 in response to an electrical signal sensed and fed from a sensor 23 built into the screw driver 1.
  • a pressure gauge 24 is connected to the first port 19 of the electromagnetic valve assembly 18 through a line 25.
  • the escapement block 10 has a cylindrical chamber 26 divided into first and second compartments 26a and 26b by a piston 63 and is formed with first and second ports 27 and 29 through which lines 28 and 30 are respectively communicated to the compartments 26a and 26b.
  • the escapement block 10 is also formed with a fastener feed opening 31 from which the flexible tube 9 extends to the driving head 2.
  • the chute 8 includes a blower 32 communicated with the second port 20 through a line 33, said blower 32 being adapted to blow air towards the row of the screws 3 on the chute 8 for forcibly feeding the screws 3 down the chute 8 onto the escapement block 10.
  • the air intake port 15 is formed in a lateral wall of a block 34 in the lengthwise direction having a partition wall 35 defining a passage leading to a filter section situated therebelow.
  • a cylindrical filter 36 is detachably secured to one end of the partition wall 35 by a rod 38 through a cylindrical baffle 37 having one end closed and mounted in position in coaxial relation to said filter 36.
  • Air passages 39, 40 are located between the partition wall 35 and the filter section 36 and a passage formed in the partition wall 35 in spaced relation to the filter 36, respectively.
  • Reference numeral 41 indicates an air pocket.
  • a main valve member 42 forms a part of the pressure regulating vlave 13 and is made of elastic material.
  • the main valve member 42 is supported in position within an annular projection 43, has a cut-out portion formed as at 46, and is normally biased towards an annular valve seat 45 by the action of a spring element 44.
  • a clean air passage 47 communicates with the electromagnetic valve assembly 18, said clean air passage 47 being adapted to draw an air which does not contain misted oil from the cut-out portion 46 in the inlet port 21.
  • a diaphragm member 48 is mounted with an axially bored relief valve 49 which is supported in position within the annular valve seat 45 in coaxial relation for sliding movement in an axial direction thereof.
  • the diaphragm member 48 is provided with a seat member 50 for receiving a spring element 52 having one end engaged to said seat member 50 and the other end associated to an adjustment bolt 51. It should be noted that, by turning the adjustment bolt 51, an axially acting spring force exerted by the spring element 52 on the diaphragm member 48 can be adjusted.
  • the air pocket 41 is communicated through a passage 53 with a horizontally extending passage 54 which is in turn communicated to an oiler section 14 for supplying a portion of the introduced air from the air pocket 41 to the oiler section 14.
  • a nozzle area 55 is formed where misted oil is mixed with the air passing from the passage 54 to the outlet port 16. It will be seen that the air emerging from the outlet port 16 contains oil in the misted form which is in turn fed to the air motor (not shown) of the screw driver 1. Like the intake port 15, the outlet port 16 is formed in the opposed lateral wall of the block 34 in the lengthwise direction.
  • the nozzle area 55 includes an oil injecting nozzle 56 for injecting oil into the air flowing through the nozzle area 55 at a relatively high speed.
  • a cap 57 inserted into a cover 58 has an oil dropping hold formed as at 59 and is positioned relative to the cover 58 in such a way as to permit the oil dropping hole 59 to be situated immediately above the oil injecting nozzle 56.
  • the oil dropping hole 59 is in communication through a pipe (not shown) with an oil reservoir 61 formed in a lower casing block 60 so that oil in the oil reservoir 61 can be sucked and fed to said hole 59.
  • the horizontally extending passage 54 is also communicated with the oil reservoir 61 through an air port 62 for introducing a portion of the air, flowing in said passage 54, to said oil reservoir 61 so that the oil reservoir 61 can be pressurized to force the oil to flow into the pipe (not shown) and then towards the oil dropping hole 59.
  • the air fed to the electromagnetic valve assembly 18 is in turn fed through the first port 19 to the compartment 26a of the cylindrical chamber 26 of the escapement block 10 thereby pressing the piston 63 to the right as shown in FIG. 2.
  • the electromagnetic valve assembly 18 becomes energized by the control unit 22 whereby the second port 20 is opened.
  • the air under pressure flowing from the valve 13 is fed through the line 30 by means of the port 29 to the compartment 26b of the cylindrical chamber 26 of the escapement block 10, thereby causing the piston 63 to move to the left by the effect of pressure differential between the pressures applied on both sides of the piston 63.
  • the fluid servicing unit for the automatic fastener feeding and driving machine comprises the filter section 12, the pressure regulating valve 13 and the oiler section 14, all being formed in a single block. Therefore, the fluid servicing unit of the present invention is advantageously compact in size and does not require any complicated piping, thus substantially eliminating many problems.
  • manintenance of the fastener feeding and driving apparatus will be inexpensive and it can be readily repaired, due to the fact that the filter, the pressure regulating valve and the oiler are integrated into a single fluid servicing unit.
  • the fluid servicing unit in itself is compact in size, it contributes to reduction of the overall size of the fastener feeding and driving apparatus.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Details Of Spanners, Wrenches, And Screw Drivers And Accessories (AREA)
  • Nozzles (AREA)
  • Portable Nailing Machines And Staplers (AREA)
  • Feeding, Discharge, Calcimining, Fusing, And Gas-Generation Devices (AREA)
US05/484,332 1973-07-02 1974-06-28 Fluid servicing unit for automatic fastener feeding and driving apparatus Expired - Lifetime US3986540A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JA48-74998 1973-07-02
JP48074998A JPS5022187A (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png) 1973-07-02 1973-07-02

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
USB484332I5 USB484332I5 (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png) 1976-03-02
US3986540A true US3986540A (en) 1976-10-19

Family

ID=13563437

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US05/484,332 Expired - Lifetime US3986540A (en) 1973-07-02 1974-06-28 Fluid servicing unit for automatic fastener feeding and driving apparatus

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US3986540A (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png)
JP (1) JPS5022187A (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png)
CA (1) CA1014701A (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png)
DE (1) DE2431345A1 (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png)
FR (1) FR2236097B1 (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png)
GB (1) GB1405244A (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4782588A (en) * 1986-11-19 1988-11-08 Ruvo Automation Corp. Door hinge applicator
US4784026A (en) * 1984-12-04 1988-11-15 Max Co., Ltd. Pneumatic screw aligner-feeder
US20130255451A1 (en) * 2012-03-31 2013-10-03 Lite-On It Corporation System and Apparatus for Screws Automatic Loading, Delivering, and a Screwdriver Set for Fetching and Fastening Screws on a Target

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS60178538U (ja) * 1984-05-08 1985-11-27 大日本インキ化学工業株式会社 ピン打ち込み機
JPH0453503Y2 (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png) * 1989-02-08 1992-12-16
CN109158847B (zh) * 2018-09-12 2019-09-24 安徽埃克森仪表有限公司 一种压力表装配机用自动出料装置

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3581370A (en) * 1969-05-28 1971-06-01 Western Electric Co Apparatus for controlling relative movement between a work tool and a workpiece
US3648744A (en) * 1970-02-17 1972-03-14 Ingersoll Rand Co Flow sensing valve

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3581370A (en) * 1969-05-28 1971-06-01 Western Electric Co Apparatus for controlling relative movement between a work tool and a workpiece
US3648744A (en) * 1970-02-17 1972-03-14 Ingersoll Rand Co Flow sensing valve

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4784026A (en) * 1984-12-04 1988-11-15 Max Co., Ltd. Pneumatic screw aligner-feeder
US4782588A (en) * 1986-11-19 1988-11-08 Ruvo Automation Corp. Door hinge applicator
US20130255451A1 (en) * 2012-03-31 2013-10-03 Lite-On It Corporation System and Apparatus for Screws Automatic Loading, Delivering, and a Screwdriver Set for Fetching and Fastening Screws on a Target
US9597756B2 (en) * 2012-03-31 2017-03-21 Lite-On Electronics (Guangzhou) Limited System and apparatus for screws automatic loading, delivering, and a screwdriver set for fetching and fastening screws on a target

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS5022187A (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png) 1975-03-10
FR2236097B1 (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png) 1980-06-06
USB484332I5 (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png) 1976-03-02
DE2431345A1 (de) 1975-01-23
GB1405244A (en) 1975-09-10
FR2236097A1 (US20020051482A1-20020502-M00012.png) 1975-01-31
CA1014701A (en) 1977-08-02

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